Mechanical movement.



Patented Mar. 20, I900.

J. W. MARTIN.

MECHANICAL MOVEMENT.

(Application filed Oct. 30, 1899.) (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet l I5 1 73h l J l l Tn: NORRIS PETERS 420.. PHoTo-ujma, wgsmnc'ruu. u. c.

No. 645,866. Patented Mar. 20, 1900.

.1. w. MARTIN.

MECHANICAL MOVEMENT.

- (Application filed Oct. 30, 1399.) r (No Model.) ZSheets-Sheet 2.

wi lwmoeo 6 W g I THE NORRIS Pzrzns ca, PHorouTua, WASHKNCYON, ov c.

JAMES W. MARTIN, on OMAHA, NEBRASKA.

MECHANICAL MOVEMENT.

SPECIFICATION forming partof Letters Patent l\ To. 645,866, dated March20, 1900. Application filed October 30, 1899. Serial No. 735,280- (N'omodel.)

zen of the United States, residing'at Omaha,

' in the county of Douglas and State of Nebraska, have invented certainnew and useful Improvements in Gearing forIWashing and other Machines,of which the following isa specification, reference being had therein tothe accompanying drawings, in which-- Figure 1 is a vertical section ofmy. invention, partlyin side elevation'andapp'lied toa washing-machine;Fig. 2, a vertical'se c'tiofn taken at right angles to Fig. 1 Fig. 3, asimilar view showing 'a'sliglitly-modifie'd arrangement; Fig. 3 a detailside elevatiompartly. in section, of the upper part of Fig. 3;'Fig.

4, a similar view to Fig. 1, showing the cap adjusted out of contactwith the eccentric; and Figs. 5 and 6, sectional views of anothermodification.

This inventionrclates to that class of gearing for washing and othermachines in which a vertical agitator-shaft or other driven shaft is'rotated first in one direction and then in the opposite direction bythecontinuous rotation in one direction of a pair of mutilated gearsalternately meshing with a gear on said shaft; and the special object ofthe present invention is to provide devices for automatically retardingthe rotation of the agitator or other shaft as each set of gear-teethleaves the pinion onsaid shaft, so that said pinion will come to acomplete rest before the gear-teeth on the opposite drive-wheel commencetheir engage ment with the pinion on the agitator or other shaft,whereby the teeth on the mutilated gears will always properly engage thegear on the agitator or other shaft, and thereby prevent injury to theparts and insure smooth operation of the machine.

Referring to the drawings by numerals, 1 designates the base-plate ofthe gearing,which plate is suitably fastened on top of thewashing-machine body 2 and is provided with an opening for the passageof the agitator-shaft 3, this shaft being provided with a flange 4,abuttingagainst the under side of plate 1, and'a beveled pinion 5,bearing up against the'upper side of said plate, this beveled pinionrotating with the shaft, but slidable thereon by reason of aspline-and-feather connection 6 or any other suitable connection.

'offera resistance to tOr- Keyed in the usual manner on a shaft 10,supported upon standards 11, rising from lplatel on either side of thebevel-wheelo, are two mutilated beveled gears 12, the geared Bearingupon the upper side of the pinion is a coil-s'pring 7, which surroundsthe upper end of shaft 3 and whose tension is regulated bya'icap 8,screwed on the upper end of shaft 3, this cap being preferably providedwith a depending flange 9, partly inclosing the upper end of the spring.By reason of this spring device the pinion 5 is made. to bear re-'siliently upon the base-plate 1, and thereby the rotation-of theagiportionof each being opposite the mutilated or blank portion of theopposite gear. These gears are rotated-by means of a hand-operated shaft13, suitablyjournaled and provided with aj,pi nion 14, meshing with. aninternal gear 15, formed on one of thegears 12 on the side adjacent tothe pinion 14:.

The shaft 10, between the gears 12, is formed elliptical incross-section, the longer axis of the ellipse being coincident with thespaces between the terminals of the toothed portions of said gears, andthe cap is adj usted, so as to normally bear upward against the shaft,

whereby when the shaft is rotated the cap will be depressed twice witheach revolution of the said shaft, the depressions occurringcoincidently with the change of rotation in the direction of the pinion5. In this manner the pinion is brought to a stop immediately after onegear releases it and before the other gear engages it, whereby accurateand smooth engagement is insured and injury from undue shock that wouldnecessarily occur if the pinion were allowed to continue its rotationduring the interval of changing from one gear to the other is avoided.

It is obvious that the pressure-cap may be adjusted to constantly bearup against the shaft, or it may be adjusted so as to contact only withthe projecting portions thereof; but I prefer that it be adjusted so asto bear lightly against the shaft at all times, whereby noise and jarwill be avoided.

It will be observed that the essential feature lies in bringing thepinion and driven shaft to a standstill during the' interval of changingfrom one gear to the other and by a resilient pressure. It is desirablethat the pressure upon the pinion be removed as much as possible duringits engagement with the driving-gears, since pressure at that time isobjectionable because it increases the labor of operating the machineand the wear of the parts. By properly proportioningthe parts it isobvious that the pressure upon the pinion while in engagement mayconsist simply of the weight of the driven shaft, the spring, and thecap, which will reduce the pressure practically to nil.

As shown in Figs. 3 and 8, I may secure on shaft 10 an eccentric 16 andupon the cap a pair of bifurcated guides 17, adapted to embrace theshaft and located one on either side of the eccentric, so that the capwill be depressed at each half-revolution of the shaft. The cap in thisdevice is not attached to the shaft of the pinion, and the pinion isfastened rigidly to the shaft by key 26; but the shaft is preferablyextended up into the spring to serve as a guide for the cap and spring.In this form of the device it will be observed that the action of theparts will be substantially the same as in Figs. 1 and 2, except thatwhen the pinion is in engagement with the gears there will be nopressure whatever upon them. As shown in Fig. 4, the cap may be screweddown out of the way of the shaft '10, and said shaft 10 need not beprovided with an eccentric or cam; but

the objection to this arrangement is that unnecessary friction isproduced by having the retarding pressure constantly in action, whereasit is only essential that it be in action during the interval betweenthe change in engagement of the driving-gears.

It will be obvious that other modifications of my invention will be madewithout departing from the spirit thereof. It is also obvious that theinvention is capable of use in connection with machines other thanwashing machines for instance, churns, icecream freezers, &c. Hence I donot wish to be confined in respect of the use or application of theinvention.

In the modification shown in Figs. 5 and 6 one of the gears 12 isprovided with a pair of inward-extending cam-lugs 18, one at each end ofthe series of gear-teeth thereon. These lugs are adapted to alternatelystrike a pin 19, inclosed in a slidable tube 20, mounted on thebase-plate 1, and force said tube inward against the hub of pinion 5, aspring 21 being inclosed between the inner end of pin 19 and the innerclosed end of said tube, whereby said tube is normally pressed inwardlightly against the hub of the pinion. It will be observed that the lugs18 will actuate the pin at the moment of the change of gears and byresilient pressure on pinion 5 bring said pinion and its shaft (which isrigidly attached to it) to a standstill and release the same before theopposite gear comes into mesh.

I claim 1. The combination of a support, a driven shaft carrying apinion, a pair of gears adapted to alternately engage said pinion androtate it in opposite directions, a holding device, and means foroperating said device automatically, whereby the pinion is brought torest and held at rest just before the gears in turn come into engagementwith it.

2. The combination of a support, a driven shaft carrying a pinion, apair of gears adapted to engage said pinion alternately and rotate it inopposite directions, a frictional holding device, and means forautomatically operating said frictional holding device as each gear inturn releases the pinion, whereby the pinion is brought to rest and heldat rest previous to each engagement of the gears.

3. A reversing mechanism, comprising a support, a driven shaft carryinga pinion, a driving-shaft provided with gears adapted to alternatelyengage said pinion and rotate it in opposite directions, aspring-actuated, frictional holding device engaging said pinion, and apressure device engaging said holding device and adapted to actuate itas each gear in turn releases the pinion, whereby the pinion will bearrested and held against rotation until each gear in turn engages it.

In testimony whereof I hereunto aflix my signature, in the presence oftwo witnesses, this 14th day of October, 1899.

JAMES \V. MARTIN.

\Vitnesses:

Orrs D. FISHER, ARTHUR STURons.

